Chapter 266: Business Trip

Zhou Yimin went to work today as usual, but just as he arrived at the office, someone came up and told him, “Team Lead Zhou, Section Chief Wang said you should go see him as soon as you get back.”

Zhou Yimin found it a bit odd, but he still replied, “Alright, thank you!”

He soon arrived at Section Chief Wang’s office and knocked politely on the door.

Even though he had a good relationship with Section Chief Wang, when it came to official matters, he made sure to maintain proper conduct. He didn’t want others criticizing him over something trivial.

“Come in!”

Zhou Yimin walked in and teased, “Section Chief Wang, what’s a busy man like you doing thinking of a nobody like me?”

“You brat. Factory Director Hu has a task for you—hopefully you won’t turn it down?” Wang Weimin said seriously.

Seeing the serious expression on Wang Weimin’s face, Zhou Yimin dropped his playful tone and asked, “What task did Factory Director Hu assign?”

“Let’s hear it. I’ll see if it’s something I can handle.”

If it was doable, he wouldn’t mind. If it wasn’t something he could accept, then he’d have to politely refuse.

Wang Weimin explained, “The department is setting up a factory in Jinmen specifically to produce electric rice cookers. They want you to go over as a technical advisor.”

Upon hearing that, Zhou Yimin let out a breath and said, “So that’s what it was. Gave me a fright for nothing—I thought it was something major.”

Going on a business trip wasn’t a bad idea at all. These days, you needed a letter of introduction from your work unit just to go anywhere, otherwise you couldn’t go at all. This way, he could take the opportunity to look around a bit—treat it like a short vacation.

“For you, this actually counts as a good thing. But to be honest, Factory Director Hu didn’t want to let you go at first. In the end, though, he compromised. He also specifically told me to warn you—you better not get tempted by the conditions offered by the Jinmen factory. You have to come back to the steel plant,” Wang Weimin said.

He had his own motives, of course—he didn’t want to lose a capable worker like Zhou Yimin. With Zhou around, he never had to worry about tasks from higher-ups not getting done.

Other sections in the Procurement Department weren’t so lucky. They were all envious that he had someone like Zhou Yimin on his team.

The other three section chiefs had tried more than once to borrow Zhou Yimin to help out, but that kind of request only fooled people fresh out of school. A seasoned fox like Wang Weimin knew better—it’d be like a dog chasing after a meat bun, never coming back.

Zhou Yimin couldn’t help but laugh. What, did they think he was going to settle down in Jinmen? His grandparents were still here!

“Section Chief Wang, just let Factory Director Hu know I’ll definitely be coming back. My whole family’s in the capital.”

Not to mention, in the future, the housing prices in the capital would be many times higher than in Jinmen. All he had to do was wait patiently—when the winds of opportunity blew through, it would be his time to shine.

After hearing Zhou Yimin’s assurance, Wang Weimin felt relieved, though he didn’t show it. He simply said, “With your word, I’m sure Factory Director Hu will be at ease.”

“When am I heading out? And how am I getting there?” Zhou Yimin asked.

He just hoped it wasn’t by truck—that would be miserable.

Trucks these days didn’t have any shock absorption. Riding in one for too long felt like torture. Even though the capital was only a little over a hundred kilometers from Jinmen, it wasn’t like the modern era where you could take the highway and get there in one or two hours, as long as there was no traffic.

Now, you had to take the national road—there were no expressways yet, and road conditions weren’t great. Even just over a hundred kilometers would take half a day.

“Team Leader Li from the Transportation Section will be driving to Jinmen to pick up some seafood. He’ll give you a ride on the way,” Wang Weimin said, shattering Zhou Yimin’s hopes with a single sentence.

Wang Weimin added, “You’ll leave the day after tomorrow. No need to come in tomorrow—go home and pack your things.”

The seafood run was just a cover—Li Feng’s real mission was to escort Zhou Yimin to Jinmen.

Zhou Yimin hadn’t expected it to actually be a truck ride, but luckily, Team Leader Li’s truck had a space in the back to lie down. At least he wouldn’t have to sit the whole way.

“Alright then,” Zhou Yimin said.

He’d be gone for a few days on this trip, so he needed to go back to the village and let his grandparents know. He didn’t want them worrying, and he also wanted to check on how the root cellar was coming along.

After leaving the office, Zhou Yimin didn’t even return to his own. He left the steel plant straightaway.

He rode his bicycle toward Zhoujiazhuang.

When he got home, he saw his grandfather directing people on how to dig the root cellar.

The old man saw Zhou Yimin coming back and stopped giving instructions. “Yimin, you’re back? Have you eaten yet? If not, I’ll have your grandma make some millet porridge for you.”

Millet porridge was made from, well, millet. It was gentle on the stomach lining, had a light and fragrant taste, was easy to prepare, and helped digestion. In the North, millet was a staple food, and many regions had the habit of eating millet porridge for dinner.

The millet at home was actually brought back by Zhou Yimin himself.

In the past, the two elders would’ve never been willing to use such fine grains as staple food. But now, they didn’t lack for anything at home. They could eat whatever they wanted.

The people digging the root cellar gulped when they heard “millet porridge.” Sure, folks in Zhoujiazhuang could now all get enough to eat, but there was still a big difference between eating enough and eating well. They were starting to forget what fine grains even tasted like.

“I’ve already eaten, Grandpa. I’m not hungry,” Zhou Yimin said.

He was someone who liked comfort—no way he’d let himself go hungry.

“Alright. Then later I’ll have your grandma make you a big meal,” the old man said.

Zhou Yimin asked, “Grandpa, how’s the root cellar coming along?”

“We just started. If we want to finish it properly, it’ll probably take another day,” the old man replied.

Zhou Yimin nodded. He didn’t know the first thing about digging root cellars, so he just took a look, then remembered the real reason he came back. “Grandpa, I have to go on a business trip to Jinmen in a couple of days. Not sure how many days I’ll be gone, so I wanted to tell you in advance.”

“Why all of a sudden are you going to Jinmen for work?” the old man asked in confusion.

Zhou Yimin answered, “They’re building an electric rice cooker factory in Jinmen, and the higher-ups want me to go help with the technical side of things.”

It wasn’t some top-secret information that needed to be kept quiet, so telling his family was no issue. Plus, it would keep them from worrying.

The old man burst out laughing. This was good news! The higher-ups valued his grandson—otherwise, they wouldn’t send him on a business trip.

“Good, good, very good! Just make sure to stay safe.”

It was something he could brag about.

Since his eldest grandson had returned to the countryside, how many times had he made him proud? Every elder in Zhoujiazhuang was envious. They all said the feng shui of their family was exceptional.

Some even suggested they move the Zhou family’s ancestral tomb—said it was too good and only benefited them. To those suggestions, the old man had responded with a tongue-lashing every time.

(End of chapter)